The market is so saturated with new projects and ICOs, making it hard and confusing to make informed and educated decisions about whom and what to trust nowadays. There are so many fly by night schemes inviting people to invest in them. Some are frankly very shady and questionable. Some are sophisticated and impressively structured down to the smallest details to make it even more tempting to join them.

This may be an emerging market but there are so many ongoing and established projects and there seems of be a pattern of introducing something along the lines of "something new and exciting" which later transitions to something risky.

I suspect they are deliberately prolonging or delaying this to fleece as many investors (now defined as victims) as they possibly can. Nobody has officially outed them yet as a scam so they still have a window of opportunity here... until now. But not everyone will read this thread so there is room for more coins to flow into their hot wallet.

Ironic that they branded their project Coinlancer. They did live up to their name, "lanced" all your coins with surgical precision indeed.

If true, that's a horrible predicament to be in. Why would you take loans from "very bad people" knowing perhaps that this might or will cause your family severe hardship and maybe even endanger them in other ways? So you didn't want to ruin your staff's Christmas and instead placed yourself and your family in such a precarious predicament.

$180k is an enormous sum. My heart sank when I saw this amount on your post. Why use an obscure service when you have the option of storing those coins in a safer and much more secure platform? Most losses posted by scam victims here were caused by sheer negligence and irresponsibility. There are always options and when you are talking about large sums of money, why is so difficult to make an educated and conscious choice?

Have you contacted blockcypher and explained your situation? You should at least attempt to do this until they respond and explain their position and how they intend to resolve it.

$180k is a big sum, yes, but no amount of money can surpass the value of life.

 

I’m reading the comments above and it’s a sad tale of a scam in the making. The big crash is yet to come but I’m impressed to see some of you with enough brain power left to recognize and finally accept the elaborately woven web of fraud here. For that, you get my applause but nothing more.

They have your money and it would be short of a miracle if they later turn out to be a genuine ICO. By the looks of it, there will be no miracle this month, next month, next year. Ever.

To our Vietnamese friend above who might have invested his entire life assets on this “project”, I do not want to break it to you prematurely but you have to brace yourself for the big S. This has all the colors of a scam. Be strong and try to weather the growing storm.

This is what happens when you don’t read the stickies above the loan section before posting a loan request. Failing to offer a valid collateral is a felony and for that you automatically qualify for red paint.

For one, needing money for medical expenses (if genuinely needed) is incompatible with wanting funds for investing in coins. Like it or not, investing can be seen as another word for gambling. Money you invest is done in the hope that you will gain or profit from that investment. This fits the same definition for gambling.

People with health problems have no time to invest or gamble.

The problem with offers like this is that the phone could have been purchased with a compromised credit card. The authorities will of course have a shipping trail to use in case the payment is later charged back and this could lead to trouble with law enforcement. (much later of course when you're long gone and unreachable)

I'm just going to guess (not saying you're doing this but I have to assume scenarios). You bought the phone online and it was shipped to a reship or mail drop address. If anyone offers to buy the phone here, you then instruct the reship or mail drop service to forward the phone to that person's new reship address (as instructed in your post above). This eliminates you or makes it hard to identify you in the event the shipment is later traced.

I'm just being realistic and erring in the side of caution so don't blame me for sharing what I think this is about.

And of course escrow is a welcome part of the equation. I see you are willing to do it, reinforcing my assumption that you do intend to ship the phone. Or rather have the phone forwarded from one reship address to another. Escrow still protects you (OP) because there really is a phone and it will be delivered. It's what happens later to the buyer (when the phone is discovered to have been purchased with a phished or compromised credit card) that matters.



 

If you don't do your research, people here will start doubting you. For one, iPhone X's are sold worldwide now. I bought mine on 4th Nov in Singapore. The phone is sold at Apple stores all over the planet. Just google Apple Japan, Apple Singapore, Apple Australia, Apple UAE, Apple China, Apple Taiwan, Apple Germany, Apple UK, Apple France.. you're a bit out of date. The phone has been available worldwide since day 1 of it's release.

Why would I risk sending bitcoins to you when I could just walk into any of the above Apple stores and pay the advertised Apple price? I pay less money and I get an original phone. Plus I get the phone right there and then. On the spot.

And what was that??? 2 iPhone X's for $18000? Why would anyone pay this much? The phone is almost obsolete. Apple is already designing an iPhone X Plus!

Why store your coins in an exchange? You should never store them in a wallet if you and you alone do not own, know and control the private keys to that wallet.

So now the person(s) behind this exchange is swimming in all your coins and there is absolutely nothing any of you can do. You don't have the private keys so the doors are closed. Locked and shut tightly.

They have the nerve and audacity to claim to be the most advanced cryptocurrency exchange. It's more like the most advanced and elaborate cryptocurrency fraudsters. This is what thieves do. They create and design a sophisticated and impressive looking website, complete with a fancy trading platform. All this to entice their victims to send coins to their hot wallets. Then when that wallet is bursting full and it's time to live the high life in Tahiti or Maldives or Dubai, then you all get the silent treatment.

So this is it. A time to reflect on mistakes. Putting coins in a wallet they control. That's one. Trusting them excessively. That's another.

 

I'm struggling to understand how something like this can happen. Aren't there withdrawal limits? 2FA? Are there no email-verified withdrawal procedures in place? How can someone intercept a third party email message when it is clearly linked to a very specific email address?

Either this was done by one very clever hacker or there is somebody inside HitBTC laughing all the way to the bank.

You are a scammer referring your own site. Not for a moment would I believe your claim of "100% sure of your transaction and it will not be refunded".

The above person sent 100 Euros 8 days ago and he hasn't received his bitcoins. Emails are being ignored so stop telling people here that they have great support.

To you who sent a SEPA payment to their Netherlands account, yes, I would advise that you take action against the owner of the account. Let your bank contact their bank by SWIFT MT107 on the FIN system informing the Dutch bank that the previously transmitted SEPA payment was executed based on fraudulent TT instructions. The German bank should attempt a SEPA recall and if not possible (due perhaps to funds having been withdrawn already) lock the account to prevent further scams.



 

So you do not accept Localbitcoins as an escrow platform. Which basically makes me wonder why and leads me to assume you do not like an escrow which you cannot manipulate and control.

Not sure what to think of "me can pay" "me wana buy". You should fix these annoying way of writing posts. I know it was written intentionally that way because the rest of your post suggests you have a better command of the English language.

A rate of 1:3 preev is unclear too. Are you saying for every 1 bitcoin you will pay thrice of preev? Tempting but I know where this is heading.

Trade here. Skype is where scammers steal and scam.

I already know you have dishonest intentions. You are refusing any kind of escrow which you cannot influence or control and I suspect you want to use yourself as escrow by creating a fake one. I test-messaged you on Skype and you were dead silent as soon as I mentioned Localbitcoins or any reputable escrow on Bitcointalk.

You will have to try harder if you want free bitcoins. This didn't work.

It always pays well to do extensive due diligence before sending coins to anyone, even to exchanges. Knowing bitcoin's irreversible nature, checking and doublechecking is even more warranted than ever.

Now that you have sent the coins to Cryptopia's hot wallet, the challenge begins here. As you probably know by now, you are not the only one dealing with these account issues. The slow response and silent treatment is a very frustrating process but what's even more nerve racking is the loss of opportunities to trade those coins and possibly even make a decent profit.

Bittrex is another example of a rogue exchange with zero consideration for their customers. I have read stories of locked amounts in excess of $1 million. I would lose my mind if I had bitcoins worth that much $ but blocked indefinitely.

Don't even think about sending coins to their hot wallets with only your phone number on file. They will want much much much more than just your phone number. And even after you provide your complete ID and credentials, there is still no guarantee that you will be given permission to move or spend those coins.

Bittrex is now undergoing a time of heavy turmoil. Just browse through the exchange and fraud sections of this site and you should see the extent of the damage they caused their customers.

I suggest you sign up, provide your own phone number and complete their verification requirements before sending any coins to your new Bittrex account. Signing up is always easy on any exchange site. So is depositing coins or money. When it gets to the withdrawing part, that's where the challenge begins.

Yes it can take weeks, months or even indefinitely. Did you have any coins in that account? If yes, then why cry for help here when you and you alone deserve the blame for being negligent. You should never store coins or money on any exchange, especially if they are your entire coins and the loss of them might cause severe hardship. Did you store your entire coins on Poloniex?

How do you expect people to help you? Many here face the same situation and some have been waiting forever, months even, for their tickets to be resolved. I doubt Poloniex staff are reading posts on this forum. They might be busy enjoying the Tahiti or Maldives sun paid for by blocked coins on locked accounts.

For the nth time, stop storing coins on exchanges. Stop using these exchanges as storage wallets.

To all the newbies above hoping and dreaming to exchange their ill-gotten PayPal funds into bitcoins, there is absolutely no way someone with a grain of common sense will transact with you. Think and stop deluding yourself into believing that this scam will still work in 2017. Maybe back in 2010 yes but not at a time when bitcoin has evolved and advanced so much.

The reason behind rejecting your PayPal funds is because PayPal payments are reversible. You can promise and swear on whoever's grave that you will not reverse the payment but you still won't find takers. If you do, they are the naive ones who act before thinking and later cry on the scam section.

I suggest you convert your PayPal funds to cash (perhaps by withdrawing them to your bank accounts) and then use the cash to buy bitcoins at an ATM near you. Or offer something irreversible.

So it's not just individual scammers to be wary about these days. We now have exchanges perpetrating full blown scams. This is why common sense is important when transacting with anyone, even exchanges. This also explains why bitcoin is going through rough roads in the process of being recognized and accepted as a legitimate currency. For one, scams are rampant. It is extremely hard to police these transactions (ironically it's the policing part we all hate too).

The most damning challenge faced by bitcoiners is the extreme difficulty in buying or selling them SAFELY. And if ever there was a way to buy them legitimately, it takes ages.. literally forever.. to finish the transaction. So many identity verification steps and security procedures. Some could argue that a SWIFT transfer from one bank to another is faster, thus negating the need for this new form of payment method.

Back to topic. So this exchange took your 19 BTC and is giving you the silent treatment. I commented months ago on their ANN thread about my suspicions and the thread's moderator quickly defended himself. Oh well, fast forward, I now see it was all part of one big elaborate and sophisticated fraud operation.

Stop storing your coins on exchanges.

Why? I'm doing this to warn those who are too naive to discern the scam within the scam here. You forget there are some here who shut down their brain functions while trading and blindly send coins first. It's as if they were hypnotized by scammers or are swimming in coins they desperately want to get rid of.

Then you have scammers here who think it will work and they take a chance with a throwaway account. It sometimes works. You'd even be surprised if I say it OFTEN works.

Plus it's almost Christmas, a time when you see a greater influx of scammers desperate for coins and free money. 

This is an exchange which entices and lures people to sign up with their grand claims of being the safest and most secure storage and trading platform on this planet. It's after you inject funds into their hot wallets or bank accounts that you realize how frustrating it is to make full use of your account. All outward transactions are restricted. Account activity, crypto and fiat movements, access to assets.. it's like a firewall they deliberately built to keep all revenues and assets locked in their system. After all, money in their system translates to a stable company profile, thus enabling a future proof operation. It's a cycle. The more money they have, the more people are enticed to invest and entrust them with their coins and money.

So here we are. Another case of them taking money and making you jump through hoops and move mountains as a condition for gaining access to YOUR money. It's both ironic and, frankly, illegal.

PayPal will not protect anyone who risks this deal. Engaging escrow offers no protection. If anyone does this deal, there is a good chance of being burned.

Look at the overall and bigger picture: new account, PayPal, send coins first. "Known trader" is an arbitrary random term which opens up a can of worms here. His strategy here will be this: you are all unknown traders and therefore must send first. In the rare case that a green trust member risks this, he still holds the upper hand here. He can (and I suspect, will) reverse that PayPal payment.

So if you are being generous this Christmas and simply want to waste or donate some coins, then this guy is a candidate for your donation.

This wouldn't have happened if you engaged the service of a reputable escrow here. Scammers will find it extremely difficult to cheat if escrow is involved. A DHL airway bill proves nothing, even if it can be tracked on the DHL website. Scammers have been known to ship rocks or trash.

Refusing escrow is a major red flag.

In this case, you seem to have been negligent. Never ever send bitcoins upfront. His refusing PayPal was already a red flag. An indicator of a scam in the making.

Reporting the scam was a good move however. It will help other members here be aware and beware of criminals like him. As for his next move, he will probably abandon the account and start with a fresh one, ready to steal again. He is someone you can call one of the lowest life forms on this planet, someone who shamelessly puts food on his stomach paid for by money he stole.